A hot water outlet of a cold/warm water purifier or a cold and hot water dispenser is provided with a safety device to prevent scald due to discharge of hot water.
Generally, a method in which hot water is discharged only when user presses a lever for hot water discharge while pressing a safety member such as a button or a rotating member is employed. The safety member can adjust the discharge of hot water by changing a position of a support point for serving as a prize when pressing the lever.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of a safety faucet according to a related art, FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing an internal configuration of the safety faucet of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing components of the safety faucet of FIG. 1.
The safety faucet 10 of a related art includes
a valve element 30 for blocking or opening an outflow path while vertically moving in a body 12 having a water inlet 18 and a water outlet 20, an operation shaft 40 coupled with the valve element 30 and moving together with the valve element 30, a spring 52 for restoring movement of the operation shaft 40, an insert member 94 for minimizing the movement of the lever, a bonnet 38 for sealing an upper opening of the body 12, and a handle assembly 16 which vertically moves the operation shaft 40 due to leverage.
A groove 71 is formed in the upper end of the operation shaft 40 in the left-right direction. A leg 61a, 62a of the handle assembly is rotatably coupled to the groove 71. A pivot pin 66 protruding inward from the left and right directions is fitted to the lower end of the leg 61a and 62a from the right and left sides of the groove 71, so that a lever body 64 and the operation shaft 40 are coupled.
The user presses a cam actuator 68 to allow a cam surface 76 to rise to the upper surface of the bonnet 38. When a lever body 64 is pressed downward, the cam surface 76 comes into contact with the upper surface of the bonnet 38 to form a support point, and the opposite leg 61a, 62a moves upward while the lever body 64 rotates around the support point. As the operation shaft 40 is lifted by that force, the valve element 30 is also raised. When the valve element 30 blocking an outflow path rises, the hot water flows out from the water inlet 18 to the water outlet 20.
However, in this structure, since a pivot pin 66 is inserted from the left and right sides and fixed in the groove 71 formed in the operation shaft 40, the coupling between the lever body 64 and the operation shaft 40 is not firm. If user shakes the lever body 64 from the front side to the left and right sides, vibration is generated in the lateral direction around the pivot pin 66. If the lever body 64 is excessively shaken from side to side, hot water may be discharged due to contact between the leg 61a, 62a and the bonnet 38.
In order to solve such a problem, in a related art, an insert member 94 of a rigid material which surrounds the operation shaft 40 is used. Due to the insert member 94, there is an effect of minimizing the left and right twist of the leg 61a, 62a and the movement when the lever is lifted upward. However, due to the addition of such a configuration, there is a problem that the structure of the safety faucet becomes complicated, the manufacturing cost increases, and the foreign substance is wedged in the insert member 94.
Further, since the bottom surface of an area where a spring 78 used for restoration of the cam actuator 68 is installed is opened, there is a problem that the spring 78 is separated and falls on a water cup.